Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on December 13, 2019

Featured photo courtesy of Mike Smith

Abe Foxman, former national director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), drew a large audience Nov. 20 to the Berman Theater to hear his talk on a timely topic: How to Deal with Anti-Semitism in the 21st Century.

Foxman is a well-known and respected activist. Leaving the ADL in 2015 after nearly three decades of leadership, he helped create in 2016 the Center for the Study of Anti-Semitism, which he leads, at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City.

The presentation was sponsored by Partners Detroit, the ADL and the Jewish Community Center and hosted by Carolyn and Aaron Frankel, who introduced Foxman, his longtime friend. The format was a fire-side chat between Foxman and Rabbi Shragie Myers, executive director of Yeshiva Beth Yehudah in Southfield.

Myers begin by asking Foxman about his remarkable personal history and path to ADL. Foxman was born in 1940, shortly after the Soviet Union took the eastern part of Poland and the Holocaust began to take shape. Before his parents were sent to a ghetto in 1941, they sent Foxman to live with a Catholic nanny in Vilnius, Lithuania. He was reunited with his parents in 1944, and the family moved to the U.S. in 1950.

Foxman earned a bachelors degree from the City College of New York, a law degree from New York University, and joined the ADL in 1965. He suggested this advice when seeking a career: You have to know what you want to do, and you have to be lucky.

The remainder of Foxmans chat was a wide-ranging perspective on anti-Semitism, both historical and modern, regarding the ideas he developed during his more than 50 years working with ADL. He told the crowd to always keep two main lessons in mind. First, the study of anti-Semitism is not an exact science; and second, there is no one single cause for anti-Semitism.

It is a virus without an antidote or a vaccine, he said. It serves so many masters for so many reasons.

Foxman did not declare the fight to be futile. He said anti-Semitism can and must be attacked through organizations, social programs, education and politics. Foxman said he was an optimist, that there has been progress despite the ebb and flow of the fight, and that he believes in the future.

He acknowledged anti-Semitism is resurgent in America, that the covers are off the sewers. The pervasive social media and online world and the current political atmosphere have encouraged anti-Semitism, identity politics, anti-immigration and other extreme positions.

What can we do? Foxman believes we have to avoid the tendency to look to the good old days. There were none, he said. In the modern era, we need to be creative in building a new firewall [against anti-Semitism]; we have to be imaginative; and we have to be proud.

The lesson he has learned is that after facing a serious threat, Jews stand-up, brush themselves off and continue to be proud of being Jewish.

The audience was appreciative. Don Cohen, a former director of ADLs Michigan Region, said, I agree that, unfortunately, anti-Semitism is a problem to be handled rather than solved. His focus on constraining and deterring anti-Semitic acts rather than changing all attitudes was spot-on.

Allan Gale, who had a 40-year career at the JCRC/AJC in Detroit, thought the chat was very insightful.

But, he said, I have a concern anti-Semitism has moved to gun violence, he said, underscoring the importance of constraining anti-Semites from acting on their beliefs.

Continue reading here:
Abe Foxman Speaks About the 'Virus with No Antidote' Detroit Jewish News - The Jewish News

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Posted By admin on December 12, 2019

The news about one of the suspects in the Jersey City shooting at a kosher supermarket apparently having been a "Black Hebrew Israelite" who apparently"wrote anti-Semitic and anti-police posts," might surprise some who associate anti-Semitism with white nationalists and with extremist Islam or certain forms of Arab nationalism. But hostility to Jews seem to be materially more common among American blacks and American Hispanics than among American whites. (As one might gather, American Black Hebrew Israelites are blacks but not Hebrews or Israelites, at least under the conventional understandings of those terms; some are black supremacists.)

According to an October 2016 Anti-Defamation League survey, "anti-Semitic views" among black respondents were materially more common than among whites, with 23% of black respondents scoring high on the ADL's scale, compared to only 10% of whites. The results remain largely the same when aggregating the ADL's 6 surveys from 2007 to 2016; between that and the oversample of blacks and Hispanics among the 1532 respondents in 2016, the comparison seems likely to be pretty reliable.

Likewise, 31% of Hispanic immigrants score high on the ADL's scale, as do 19% of U.S.-born Hispanics, compared to 10% of whites. ("White" here presumably means "non-Hispanic white.")

Now the ADL's "anti-Semitic index" may be faulted in some measure; it is based on how many of the following statements a responded agrees with, with a high score being defined as at least 6 out of 11 (as the 2013 survey report indicates):

Jews stick together more than other Americans.Jews always like to be at the head of things.Jews are more loyal to Israel than America.Jews have too much power in the U.S. today.Jews have too much control and influence on Wall Street.Jews have too much power in the business world.Jews have a lot of irritating faults.Jews are more willing than others to use shady practices to get what they want.Jewish business people are so shrewd that others don't have a fair chance at competition.Jews don't care what happens to anyone but their own kind.Jews are (not) just as honest as other business people.

Some of these sentiments might not necessarily reflect hostility to Jews; for instance, Jews may indeed in fact stick together more than other Americansgroup solidarity is not uncommon among various ethnic groups and especially religious groupsand different people may view that negatively, positively, or neutrally. Likewise, while it's surely an exaggeration to say that Jews always "like to be at the head of things," it may well be both true and good that Jewish culture promotes more ambition and outspokenness than average. Some of the other sentiments may be hostile to Jews (e.g., "Jews are more loyal to Israel than America") but still be legitimate subjects for inquiry: I don't think American Jews are more loyal to Israel than America, or that such loyalty to another nation is an exclusive trait of Jews, but many Jews do feel a strong emotional link to Israel, and one can legitimately argue that this link may sometimes mislead them, even to America's detriment. And don't get Jews started on our having a lot of irritating faults . But on balance, despite its limitations, this list seems like a reasonable basis for comparing the general tenor of attitudes among American whites, blacks, and Hispanics.

Of course, none of this can be generalized to all or even most blacks and Hispanics, any more than either the views of white anti-Semites can be generalized to all or most whites. For each group, those that the ADL labels as having especially high anti-Semitic propensities are a minority, and indeed (with the exception of among foreign-born Hispanics) a small minority. And of course even those who have anti-Semitic views will overwhelmingly not engage in crime against Jews.

But I think many people assume, both because of the high historical profile of the Nazis and the KKK, and because of the past images of WASP discrimination against Jews, that anti-Semitism in the U.S. is disproportionately a white phenomenon. Such an assumption, it appears, would be in error.

Credit: My coblogger David Bernstein first alerted me to this, by blogging about an earlier survey on the subject in 2014.

See the article here:
"Anti-Semitic Propensities" by Race, According to the Anti-Defamation League - Reason

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Posted By admin on December 12, 2019

A New Jersey employee for a federal contractor pleaded guilty after purposefully omitting his ties to a white supremacist organization on applications for security clearance and then lying to the FBI.

Fred Arena, 41, pleaded guilty to charges of making false statements to government agents, U.S. Attorney William McSwain announced in a news statement.

Arena was working for a federal contractor at the Philadelphia Navy Yard and needed to obtain a security clearance. When asked if Arena was ever a member of an organization that used or advocated the use of force or violence, he falsely answered "no."

Investigators discovered that Arena is actually an avowed member of the white supremacist group Vanguard America.

Local news outlet NJ.comreported that Arena participated in the group virtually, using the pseudonym of a dead Confederate colonel. He allegedly used the fake name to share racist memes and make threats against his exesand suspectedantifa activists.

When he was interviewed by FBI agents at the Navy Yard about his ties to the group, Arena lied under oath, according to the statement.

Lying on federal security clearance forms and to government agents will land you in big trouble, McSwain said in a statement. And the nature of Arenas deception attempting to conceal his affiliation with a white supremacist group in order to obtain employment with a federal contractor is extremely disturbing."

"Furthermore, no employee working for the federal government in any capacity has any business being a member of a white supremacist group or espousing white supremacist views. Employees paid with American taxpayer dollars are held to the highest standards so as to ensure their commitment to serve the public in a fair, lawful manner.

Arena is currently in federal custody. The Hill has reached out to the U.S. Attorneys office regarding his sentencing.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which tracks anti-Semitic and hate incidents across the country, identifies Vanguard America as a group that opposes multiculturalism and believes America should be an exclusive white nation.

The white supremacist group is known for posting flyers promoting its ideology at universities, with the ADL counting 32 incidents in several different states.

James Alex Fields Jr., the man serving a life sentencefor murdering counter-protester Heather Heyer with his car during the deadly 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., was seen carrying a shield bearing Vanguard Americas fascist symbol, the ADL noted. However, the group has denied he was a member.

Officials say the group claims to have about 200 members in 20 states, according to NJ.com

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Federal contractor pleads guilty after lying about ties to white supremacist group | TheHill - The Hill

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Posted By admin on December 12, 2019

Rep. Eric Swalwell, who represents Pleasanton in the East Bays Alameda County, wrote an op-ed in the Forward this week highlighting Californias recent rise in anti-Semitic incidents and condemning President Trump and some of his associates who he believes have tacitly or explicitly empowered extremism in ways not seen in generations.

Hate is on the rise in America, oozing like poison into our national business and even into our governments official business, wrote the 39-year-old member of Congress, who vaulted onto the national political stage recently with a spirited presidential bid that ended in July, and who began his political career nine years ago with a seat on the Dublin City Council. Its on all of us to call it out, and tone it down.

Swalwell, who has played a highly visible role in impeachment proceedings against the president as a member of both the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees, cited an FBI report released in November showing that anti-Semitic incidents soared to a 16-year high across the nation in 2018, and a July report from the California attorney general that showed anti-Semitic hate crimes in the state climbed by 21 percent from 2017 to 2018.

He also cited recent anti-Semitic incidents in the Bay Area covered by J. that alarmed him, including robocalls attacking Sen. Dianne Feinstein in 2018 and conspiratorial fliers discovered in Novato in August that suggested Jews were responsible for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. J. later linked the Novato fliers to a notorious YouTuber called Handsome Truth.

This isnt happening in a vacuum, Swalwell wrote in the piece, published Tuesday. Its happening as President Donald Trump and his allies dabble in hate-baiting propaganda.

Swalwell mentioned Trumps claim that there were good people on both sides after the deadly Unite the Right rally organized by white nationalists and neo-Nazis in Charlottesville in 2017, and recent comments suggesting that Jews who vote for Democrats are disloyal to Israel.

Its happening as President Donald Trump and his allies dabble in hate-baiting propaganda.

He went on to list a litany of offenses by Trump associates, such as his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and far-right allies Glenn Beck and Rep. Steve King, who have advanced anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, particularly about the Jewish philanthropist George Soros.

In 2018, Trump propped up the pernicious theory that Soros, a major Democratic donor and Holocaust survivor, was funding a caravan of migrants seeking to enter the country from Central America. Robert Bowers, the suspected shooter at the October 2018 Tree of Life synagogue killings, made reference to a related myth in online posts before his attack, that the Jewish nonprofit HIAS was bringing dangerous invaders into the country that kill our people.

In September, Giuliani said in an interview with Laura Ingraham of Fox News that an organization run by George Soros is somehow central to the Ukraine affair that has embroiled his client in impeachment proceedings.

George Soros was behind it. George Soross company was funding it, Giuliani later said on ABCs This Week on Sept. 29.

No matter the purpose, the rhetoric is resonating with some of Americas worst bottom-feeders, Swalwell wrote, emboldening them to speak louder with even more vile lies.

The op-ed was published one day before Trump signed an executive order that was praised by the Anti-Defamation League and other Jewish groups. The order, titled Combating Anti-Semitism, expands Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act to prohibit forms of discrimination rooted in anti-Semitism at public universities and other institutions that receive federal funding. Critics say the measure could curb free speech and limit legitimate criticism of Israel by using the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance examples of modern day anti-Semitism that cite Israel.

Swalwell, a former soccer player who attended Dublin High School before earning undergraduate and law degrees at the University of Maryland, also brought up former Trump campaign adviser Roger Stones claim that Fiona Hill, former Russia analyst on the National Security Council and an impeachment foe of Trumps, was a mole for Soros in the White House. During an impeachment hearing before the House Intelligence Committee, Hill called the suggestion an absolute outrage.

Simply put, Trump and his allies are so eager to double down on divisive politics that they will embrace anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, Swalwell wrote.

Words matter, he continued. Hate must not be stoked, lest innocent people die. As a country, we must hold Trump and his minions accountable for their conduct, and we must do more to protect the communities facing the greatest risk.

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Swalwell rips Trump for 'hate-baiting propaganda' in Forward op-ed - The Jewish News of Northern California

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Posted By admin on December 12, 2019

In a passionate plea to his Republican colleagues, Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) implored them to "wake up" and remember that they "didn't swear an oath to Donald Trump. You swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Cicilline made his remarks on Wednesday night as the House Judiciary Committee debated the articles of impeachment against President Trump. He first quoted Alexander Hamilton, who said impeachable offenses are "abuses of public trust, injuries done to society itself," and said he would use his time to help the public understand why Trump's decision to stop aid to Ukraine affects every American.

Trump, Cicilline said, "wielded the enormous powers of the presidency to cheat in the 2020 election. Specifically, he used our nation's leverage over an ally, undermining our national security to try to smear the opponent he feared most in the general election. That wasn't an attack on Vice President Biden, it was an attack on our democracy, and if we don't hold the president accountable for it, we will set a catastrophic precedent."

In the future, he warned, a president afraid of losing re-election will "feel entitled to do whatever it takes to win, even if they have to abuse their power to do it. If we set that precedent, if we decide the president is above the law, then we will no longer live in a democracy. We will live in a dictatorship, trading the values of Madison for the values of Moscow."

Speaking directly to the GOP lawmakers on the committee, Cicilline urged them to "stop thinking about running for re-election, stop worrying about being primaried, stop deflecting and distracting and treating those you represent as if they don't see what's going on, like they're not smart enough to realize that you are willfully ignoring the facts to protect a corrupt and dangerous president." He then asked each person to "reach deep within yourself to find the courage to do what the evidence requires and the Constitution demands: to put our country above your party." Catherine Garcia

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Trump to define Judaism as a race or nationality in executive order for college campuses - The Week

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Posted By admin on December 12, 2019

(12/13-12/15) Looking for what to do in New York? We've got the latest on all the goings-on in NYC, from concerts to museum exhibitions to comedy to the best in city sightseeing. This weekend we're excited for atuba concert at Rockefeller Center, an Oreo Holiday House in Bryant Park, a Star Wars exhibit, a Santa cruise with Spirit of New York, and much more to get you into the holiday spirit!

Photograph: Anthony Quintano/Flickr.

(12/4-1/17/20)This year marks the 83rd anniversary of the worlds most famous patch of ice, The Rink at Rockefeller Center. Take advantage of a package deal, like a VIP dining and skating combo that includes great seats for the Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes, which continues its holiday residency at Radio City Music Hall through Jan. 5th. While youre in the area, dont miss the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, a 60-year-old Norway spruce from Florida, New York, which will shine all the way until January 17th. For the ultimate perspective on the area, head up to the Top of the Rock observation deck, a stunning perch atop Rockefeller Center.rockefellercenter.com

If you're looking for alternatives, click here to read more on The Origami Holiday Tree at AMNH and Other Christmas Trees in NYC.

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(12/13-12/22)Wonderland! pop up at Target. Head to the Meatpacking District for a family-friendly holiday destination, withhands-on activities like taking a seasonal family portrait with an oversized greeting card, stepping inside a life-size gingerbread house, walking a hallway made of Star Wars lightsabers, or getting a princess-inspired makeover.

(12/14) Everyone is invited to be a kid for a day at the OREO Holiday House in Bryant Park, an interactive experience open from 11am-10pm. Visitors can stop by to discover the holiday decor inside the house, leave OREO cookies by the fireplace for Santa, experience holiday tastings, and capture playful photo moments in a Cookie Dunk Ball Pit. Part of Bryant Park's Winter Village.

(12/14)Holiday Beauty Wish List. Take a break from online shopping for an all-day pop up event atthe Amazon Bookstore at 34th Street. Beauty brandsLOreal, NYX, Maybelline, Revlon, Neutrogena will be joined by sweet favorites Hersheys and Mars to present demos,samples, andan interactive photo op. It's all free!

(12/14) TheNYRR Jingle Bell Jogat Prospect Park. "A Holiday Gift Wrapped as a Race": this festive family favorite is more than just a road race, it's also a celebration and a fundraiser for NYRR's youth programs. Not only does your entry fee snag you a holiday souvenir and post-race hot chocolate, the proceeds from this race fund youth running programs in schools all over the city! Give the Gift of Running Your race entry goes to support our youth programs year round. An additional $25 donation helps put new running shoes on deserving kids' feet, and further provides them with the access they need to run. With the additional $25 donation, donors will get a fun gift. You can donate at check out, or during bib pickup. Proceeds from the Jingle Bell Jog benefit NYRR's Youth Programs, which provide running programs and events for more than 250,000 children in schools across the United States.

(12/14-12/15)11thAnnual St. Nicholas Church Cookie Walkin the East Village. Cookies, crafts, Claus! 11am-4pm Saturday/12-3pm Sunday.

(Now-12/24)No need to brave the elements for holiday shopping. Visit theGrand CentralHoliday Fairfrom now throughChristmas Eveand browse in warmth. The terminals Vanderbilt Hall is home to 40 artisans that sell art and home goods; holiday-themed items; bath and body products; toys; and clothing and accessories for men, women, and children. Commuters take note: you can check off all the items on your list without missing your train (the terminal hasplenty of great shoppingeven beyond theHoliday Fair.) The Holiday Fair is open Monday through Friday, 10am-8pm, until 7pm Saturdays, and 11am-6pm Sundays. Closed Thanksgiving and open 10am-6pm on Christmas Eve.

(12/15)Every Sunday on the Upper West Side you can check out Grand Bazaar NYC, the citys largest curated marketand most distinctive! This Sunday youll also find the opening day of the markets annualGrand Holiday Bazaar. Find unique gifts indoors and out from 150+ hand-picked independent local artisans and dealers. Come hungry! There are great artisanal food options as well. 10am-5:30pm.

Read here for more on Holiday Markets NYC.

(Now-1/5)Bronx Zoo Holiday Lights.Highlights include nightly ice carving demonstrations, carolers, characters, train rides, and a lantern safari.

JR (French, born 1983).The Chronicles of New York City, 201819 (detail). JR-ART.NET.

(Ongoing)JRis a consummate 21st-century artist. As a young man, he began taking pictures of his fellow street-artist friends and posting them around his native France. Later, his photography projects expanded in scope and deepened in tone without losing their populist flair. Now, this celebrated artist will receive the first major North American retrospective of his work,JR: Chroniclesat theBrooklyn Museum.The exhibition, named after the artists new mural of New York City, debuted October 4. The mural itself,The Chronicles of New York City,portrays over one thousand New Yorkers thatthe artist interviewed and photographed in summer of 2018.

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(Now-1/5) With the final chapterStars Wars: The Rise of Skywalkercoming out Dec. 20, anticipation for the beloved 42-year old film sagais at an all-time high. To whetappetites,Dolby SoHohas decked out its windows for its 11 immersive Star Wars exhibitions.Travel through hyperspace and relive epic lightsaber battles as you explore the iconic sights and sounds of the Star Wars Universe, presented in DOLBY VISION. It's open Wednesdays-Sundays, 1-8pm, and the best part, it's FREE.On Dec. 24 & 31, open 1-5pm(closed Christmas and New Year's Day).477 Broadway,soho.dolby.com

(Ongoing) For a brief few years, fine art, folk art, Hollywood, and Pentecostal fervor all came together inhand-painted advertisements for VHS screenings in Ghana. Now open at Poster House in Chelsea,Baptized By Beefcake: The Golden Age of Hand-Painted Movie Posters from Ghanafeatures colorful takes on vintage horror and action flicks, seen through a localized religious lens. It's amazing any of this even survivedpainted on recycled rice sacks and meant for short-term use, the show reflects a remarkable effort of preservation, holding up an uncanny mirror to '80s and '90s America.posterhouse.org

Dinner and cake inIntrepids wardroom in October 1944.Photo from National Archives and Records Administration.

(New!)Making a beautiful cake is pretty challenging, but what if you had to make it on a Navy ship, for a crew of thousands?The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museums new exhibition,Navy Cakes: A Slice of History,explores the history of naval personnel and their incredible cakes. (*Closed Dec. 4 & Dec. 9)

Installation View: Artistic License: Six Takes on the Guggenheim Collection, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Photo: David Heald. Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation.

(Ongoing) For the first time in its history, theSolomon R. Guggenheim Museumhas invited artists to serve as curators, creatingArtistic License: Six Takes on the Guggenheim Collection. Drawing on the institutions vast collection of fine art, the show is a fitting complement to the 60th anniversary of the Guggenheims iconic Frank Lloyd Wright-designed home. The six artists are Cai Guo-Qiang, Paul Chan, Jenny Holzer, Julie Mehretu, Richard Prince, and Carrie Mae Weems, all major figures in the contemporary art world.

Via Instagram.

(Now-8/30/20)The most significant site of the Holocaust, Auschwitz was not a single entity, but a complex of 48 concentration, forced labor, and extermination camps, at which 1 million Jewsand tens of thousands of otherswere murdered.Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away., a new exhibition at theMuseum of Jewish HeritageA Living Memorial to the Holocaust, explores the legacy of historys deadliest mass murder site. More than 700 original objects and 400 photographs are on display, many for the first time in North America. Among the artifacts: personal possessions, fragments of a barrack, a gas mask used by the SS, and an original German-made Model 2 freight wagon used for the deportation of Jews to the ghettos and extermination camps in occupied Poland.mjhnyc.org

(Ongoing)You can experience the world of historys most famous spy atDriven: 007 x SPYSCAPE,a new exhibition insideNew Yorks spy museum,SPYSCAPE. This immersive exhibition brings you into the Bond universe with sets, props, and insights about the creation of the ageless secret agent. Among the highlights: an Aston Martin DB5, the lab of Quartermaster (or Q), M16s gadget master, concept art from Oscar-winning production designer Sir Ken Adams, and an exploration of 2012 Bond filmSkyfallsunforgettable final scene.

(12/13-12/14) Jeff Dye at Gotham Comedy Club.

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(12/12-12/14) Jim Norton at Carolines.

(12/13)Jerry Seinfeldat the Beacon Theatre, two shows.

Click here for more"Comedy Shows in NYC This Weekend."

(12/14)Lunch with Santa CruiseaboardSpirit of New York. Enjoy a buffet and spend some scenic quality time with Santa. Boards 11:30am, sails noon-2pm. From $64.90 pp.

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(12/15) FREE! Holiday Sing-Along accompanied by tuba players at 46th Annual Merry Tuba Christmas at Rockefeller Center, 3:30-4:15pm.

(12/15) 109th Annual Reading of T'was the Night Before Christmas at the Church of the Intercession in Morning Heights.Young Peoples Chorus of Washington Heights led by YPC conductors Maria Pea and Gia Gan return to the Church of the Intercession for its 109th-annual Christmas tradition: a performance of holiday music and a candlelight reading of Clement Clark Moores Twas the Night Before Christmas, followed by a lantern procession and wreath-laying at Clement Moores mausoleum at Trinity Church just across from Intercession Church. 3pm. FREE.

(Now-1/26)The New York Botanical Garden'sHoliday Train Showis back! Marvel at model trains zipping through an enchanting display of more than 175 famous New York landmarksimagine the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, Rockefeller Center, Central Park, and other favoriteseach delightfully recreated from natural materials such as birch bark, acorns, and cinnamon sticks. Make your best holiday memories with crafts and carolers, seasonal treats, a visit from Thomas the Tank Engine,and so much more!

(Now-1/31/20) Just extended!Color Factory, a massive interactive art space, began in August 2017 in San Francisco. Wildly popular, the project has set up shop in SoHo and is sure to inspire lines as long as the cronut did at nearby Dominique Ansel Bakery. Designed by a wide spectrum of artists, Color Factory walks visitors through 16 rooms devoted to the wonder of color. Youre invited to compliment someone using color words, discover your signature color, and read wishes for the world written by NYC school children on varicolored balloons. Each room is equipped with a camera that can take a picture of you and send it to your phone: the better to post with!251 Spring St.,support@colorfactory.co,colorfactory.co,@colorfactoryco

(Ongoing)Here Be Dragons, a new interactive scavenger hunt in the American Museum of Natural History offered by Fable & Lark: Storied Adventures, draws from the menageries of creatures in bothFantastic BeastsandFantastic Beasts: Crimes of Grindelwald. Participants will explore galleries throughout the museum as they answer questions, solve clues, engage in creative activities, and track down the origins of some of the creatures from both theFantastic Beastsstories as well as other classic myths and tales. Grab your nifflers and join! Advance registration required.fableandlark.com

Updated!Read about more Instagrammable pop-up exhibits in NYC here.

(Ongoing)Exhilarating Family Fun atStompNYC. Special discount packages available!

Click here for moreThings to Do with Kids in NYC This Weekend.

For more kids activities, check out our sister sitenymetroparents.com!

(Now-3/15/20) Grab a friend and skate your cares away downtown with rooftop viewsatWinterland at Pier 17.

Read here for more information onIce Skating NYC.

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Throughout December,Bateaux New Yorkoffers aHoliday Lights Dinner Cruise, sailing from 7pm-10pm. Includes a three course dinner, an acoustic quartet and piano performance, and panoramic views. There is also aChristmas Eve Dinner Cruise, from 7pm-10pm, From $149.90. Grab the gang for theHoliday Bottomless Mimosa Brunchon Sundays, starting at $94.90. Ring in the new year with theirNew Year's Eve Cruise,from 9pm-1am, starting at $599.90.bateauxnewyork.com

(Ongoing)Gray Line New York Sightseeingoffers specialChristmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettescombo tours, as well astrips to Woodbury Commons, where you can get the jump on designer outlet shopping. Seenewyorksightseeing.comfor more.

(12/1-12/31) Throughout the month of December, check outA Slice of Brooklyn's Holiday Lights Tour, which goes through Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, a neighborhood full of eye-popping displays. Offered every day except Christmas Day. Stock up on holiday treats and gifts onA Slice of Brooklyn's Chocolate Touras well, offered every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

New! Learn How to Strut the Runway with Victoria's Secret Angel Alessandra D'Ambrosio at Madame Tussauds New York!"The Fashion Experience" is a new interactive attraction that has just openedatMadame Tussaudsin Times Square.

(Now-1/5)LuminoCity Festival at Randall's Islandis aIight festival/immersive art experience spanning 16 acreswith three theme parks: Winter Fantasy, Wild Adventure, and Sweet Dream, highlighted by over 23 sets of larger-than-life light art displays anda holiday night market.

(Ongoing)Part show. Part tour. All entertainment.THE RIDEis a one-of-a-kind experience that turns the streets of New York into a stage. Journey through Times Square and midtown Manhattan as the citys landmarks unfold before your very eyes. THE RIDEs theatres-on-wheels also tour lower Manhattan, withTHE DOWNTOWN EXPERIENCE Powered by THE RIDE, which lets visitors re-live iconic moments in New York history through the magic of TimeLooper Virtual Reality Headsets.Use our coupon and save $10 off!*The RIDE HOLIDAY EDITION, runs 11/14-1/5/20.

The iconicRockefeller Center Ice Skating Rinkis openfor the winter season. For information on reservations, skate lessons, or season passes, call 212-332-7654 or visittherinkatrockcenter.com. VIP packages are available. For more information on Rockefeller Center, visitrockefellercenter.com.(Please note, tree won't be up 'til Dec. 4.)

(Ongoing)A Slice of Brooklyn'sBrooklyn Chocolate Tourvisits artisanal chocolate sites Jacques Torres Chocolate in DUMBO, The Chocolate Room in Cobble Hill, Raaka in Red Hook, and Li-Lac Chocolates in Industry City, Sunset Park. Offered every Monday, Wednesday, Friday. All tours depart and return to Union Square.

(New!)Madame TussaudsNew York Presents Broadway.Take a magical journey starting with a cocktail at the Broadway Bar, and then travelingthrough a kaleidoscope of your favorite musicals. Enter the world of Andrew Lloyd Webber'sPhantom of the Opera, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Evita, Sunset Boulevard, andCats.You can sing Memory with Grizabella the Glamour Cat and wear the Dreamcoat yourself as you become a Broadway star. The Phantom of the Opera will also guide you through this dazzling backstage experience, and perhaps do a little singing himself along the way. Live actors will be on hand to enhance the rush both on- and offstage.

(Ongoing) Get the full stadium experience withYankee Stadium Tours, which offers exclusive access to New York Yankee historic spots like Monument Park, The Great Hall, and even down to the dugout. The daily tours also bring you close to baseball artifacts like Babe Ruths bat, Lou Gehrigs jersey, and rings and trophies representing the Yankees 27 world championships.Here is a $5 off coupon!

(Now-1/5/20) TheChristmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettesreturns to dazzle for another holiday season!The 90-minute show features more than 140 performers and an original musical score and combines singing, dancing, and humor with traditional scenes.

PLUS

(12/12-12/29)'Twas the Night Before Christmas,by Cirque du Soleil.

PLUS

(Now-1/5)Chris Botti's 15th Annual Holiday Residencyat theBlue Note Jazz Club.

(12/13)Z100's Jingle Ballat Madison Square GardenwithTaylor Swift, the Jonas Brothers, Camila Cabello, Halsey, 5SOS, Niall Horan, Lizzo, Dan + Shay, Monsta X, Lewis Capaldi, andFletcher.

(12/13-12/14)New York Gay Men's Choruspresents itsAnnual Holiday Extravaganzaconcert at Skirball Center.With selections of everyones favorites and important traditions all our own, this evening of sparkling entertainment shines with the powerful sound of nearly 300 voices. 8pm.

(12/13)Agnostic Front/Sick of It Allat Black Thorn 51 in Queens.

(12/13) Damara Lynn Greene"Home for the Holidays" (R&B/Blues/Indie Soul) at Sugar Bar NYC. 8pm.

(12/14) Charles Duke "Hello Christmas Concert" (R&B/Pop)at Sugar Bar NYC. 8pm & 9:30pm.

(12/14) Kansas at the Beacon Theatre.

(12/14)Los Lobosperform at theNew York Society for Ethical Culture.

(12/14)Harry and the Potters' 10th Annual Yule Ballat The Bell House. All ages. 5:30pm.

(12/15)Mariah:All I Want for Christmas Is You Tourstops at Madison Square Garden.

(12/15)Irish Arts Center Winter Solstice Celebration.New Yorkers of all backgrounds love this heartwarming celebration of well-woven musical traditions from Ireland and around the world. A parade of special guests old and new join hostsMick Moloney,Athena Tergis, andThe Green Fields of Americafor a raft of songs and stories to kick off the holiday season in this critically-acclaimed welcome to winter

(12/15, 12/22, 12/29) Dueling Pianos at Patrick's Restaurant & Oyster Bar. Doors 12:30pm, show at 1:30pm. ThreeWays to Duel!$25 for entry; $45 for entry plus bottomless mimosas & Marys; $60 for entry plus bottomless mimosas, Marys, andan entree. Dueling Pianos is an all-request, rock-and-roll party where YOU pick the playlist. Twotop piano entertainers mix music, comedy, and audience interaction in a singalong, laugh-along, dance-along show. Nothing is off-limits from pop, rock, country, hip-hop, hairbands, disco, punk, rock, standards, showtunesif you can hum it, they can play it!Get tickets here.

(Now-1/20) The Late Late Tacky Christmas Takeover.Think your wacky grandmothers living room exploding with holiday decorations?The Late Lates Tacky Christmas Takeoverbrings all the tchotchkes, all the holiday colors mixed together, and all the decorations that can fit, with no theme in sightits fun, its festive, and itstacky! Guests can warm up with a number of specialty seasonal cocktails includingtheOh, F...udge!with Hennessy VSOP, green chartreuse, hot chocolate, marshmallow meringue, and peppermint candy.

Click here to read more on10 Seasonal Bars and Holiday Popups in NYC.

(12/15) Nova, Nova: Christmas Star performance at St. John the Divine. 2pm.

(12/15-1/4)Met Opera presentsThe Magic Flute.A beloved holiday tradition continues as Mozarts delightful fairy tale returns in the Mets abridged, English-language version for families, perfect for younger audiences, with no intermission and a running time of less than two hours. Lothar Koenigs conducts a dynamic cast of standout Mozarteans in Julie Taymors magical production, an enduring Met classic with its eye-popping puppetry and stunning visuals.Soprano Kathryn Lewek reprises her hair-raising rendition of the malevolent Queen of the Night.

(Now-12/29)Anything Can Happen in the Theatre: The Musical World of Maury Yestonat The York Theatre Company. Catchthis Off-Broadway premiere which featuressongs from the two-time Tony Award-winning composer and lyricist. The genius of Yestons songsintricate yet emotional, cerebral yet romantic, always melodicis coupled with an outstanding cast, performing new tunes and showstoppers from the likes ofGrand Hotel, Titanic, andPhantom. St. Peters Church.

Photo credit: Paul Kolnik

(Now-1/5) Tschaikovsky's beloved melodies transport viewers to a world where mischievous mice besiege a battalion of toy soldiers, and an onstage blizzard leads to an enchanted Land of Sweets.George BalanchinesThe Nutcrackeratnycballet.com.

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Things to Do in NYC This Weekend (Dec. 13-15) - City Guide NY

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Posted By admin on December 12, 2019

Israeli flag. Photo: Eduardo Castro / Pixabay.

The first thing to say about Susie Linfields The Lions Den is that its an excellent book on a burning topic. Anyone with even a passing interest in how the academic and political Left, broadly defined, has dealt with the issue of Zionism should start here.

Linfield doesnt hide her point of view; she openly identifies both with the Left and with Zionism. She has no illusions about Israels imperfections, but no illusions either about the dire situation facing mid-century Jews and the cruel fate that awaited the Israelis had they lost wars in 1948 or 1967. Her book doesnt seek to answer questions about the conflict, but rather to pose some difficult questions for its outsized and cartoonish presence in leftist intellectual discourse. It pulls no punches with its targets. You wont be able to look at Hannah Arendt the same way again.

The book is organized as a biographical, intellectual history. One chapter each for eight prominent late-twentieth-century left-wing intellectuals who had Israel and the entire project of Jewish self-determination on the mind. The eight are split into three groups: Hannah Arendt and Arthur Koestler are Europeans; Maxime Rodinson, Isaac Deutscher, Albert Memmi, and Fred Halliday are Socialists; I.F. Stone and Noam Chomsky are Americans.Its not a very intuitive division of the subjects. It might have made more sense to divide the subjects by their attitudes to Israel, with the bitterly hostile (as at least five, or arguably even six, were) in one section, and the ultimately sympathetic (as two were) getting another. Another interesting division might have been Jewish thinkers in one section and non-Jewish thinkers in another, but only one out of the eight subjects isnt Jewish. An even more interesting division would have been between the thinkers Linfield is able to take seriously even in cases of obvious disagreement, and the ones she considers to be little more than provocative frauds.

Linfield occasionally goes out of her way to demonstrate her bona fides as part of the community of the good with sweeping denunciations of present Israeli policies, sometimes in overly generalized terms that leave out, for example, the fact that three times in the past 20 years (2000-2001, 2007-2008, and 2013-2014), genuine Israeli compromises on two-state plans (from three very different kinds of Israeli governments) were met with solid Palestinian refusals.

December 11, 2019 11:08 am

I can see the importance of such markers of membership, and have probably been guilty of similar efforts in my own writing. Yet I was left a bit cold by them, particularly in the books conclusion. Not because I dont agree with her criticisms of Israels policies and actions in the occupied territories. But because they are barely relevant to the phenomenon she seeks to understand in this book, and making these sacrificial offerings comes off as a partial buy-in on the very mindset she is holding up to critical scrutiny. The ravings of her various subjects have, for the most part, little to do with Israel as a real country and more to do with Israel as an imagined entity standing in for some global good (in a few of her subjects early intellectual engagements) and for a great deal of evil too. Even tying it to Zionism is giving too much credit.

Arendt and Koestler, to be sure, deal with Zionism on its own as an ideology (or ideological cluster) worth examining, accepting, and then recoiling from. But most of her subjects are dealing not so much with Zionism as with anti-Zionism as its own ideological project. Not an opposition to something real, but an oppositional stance as a core ideological commitment a fully formed belief about what is right and wrong with the world that needs a schreckbild version of Jewish self-determination as an organizing principle. This is certainly true for the two anti-Zionists in Linfields section on socialists, Maxime Rodinson and Isaac Deutscher, and equally true for the two anti-Zionists in her section on Americans, I.F. Stone and Noam Chomsky.

Notably, it is true as well for one of the two dissidents of the book (if it is at all appropriate to use the word dissident here). Irish-born Fred Halliday seems at first glance to be the odd man out. He is the only non-Jewish subject, which is doubly odd. If the books goal is a survey of Jewish leftist encounters with Zionism, then he doesnt belong; if the books goal is a survey of leftist encounters without an explicit focus on Jews, then Halliday shouldnt have been alone. Hes exceptional in one even more important way. Though he remains completely faithful to core leftist principles on global politics, he is never able to adopt for himself the obsessive hatred of Israel that gradually becomes a social requirement. As with most of the other subjects, however, his engagement is less with Zionism than with anti-Zionism. But unlike with the other subjects of Lions Den, Halliday finds the whole thing rather ridiculous and is unafraid to puncture the hypocritical pieties of his ideological partners.

The books true hero, however, is Albert Memmi, still alive in Paris and turning 99 years old this week. The French-Tunisian-Jewish Memmi isnt just a critic of vulgar Israel-hatred. He is, rather, fully engaged in the cause of liberation of people throughout the Middle East, including in Israel. This is all the more remarkable when one considers how little pull Zionism had on Memmis own life and interests. His dissent from the stifling consensus of his peers isnt just a recoiling at their evident hypocrisy (though it is that too). It is a mature reading of global developments in all their complexity and nuance, with none of the consequence-free self-indulgence of his trendier colleagues.Linfields account of Memmi leaves the reader wanting to know him better and on more topics. The same cannot be said of other subjects in the book. Koestler is outrageous, but its not clear that he wants to be taken seriously. Arendt does, but doesnt deserve it. Rodinson is particularly scandalous.

Linfields style is breezy, fun, learned, and razor-sharp. She leavens most of the chapters with humor and occasionally even sarcasm. This was fine for a sympathetic reader like me, but I wonder if it will work on more hostile readers and more hostile readers need to be reading this book.All of the books greatest strengths and weaknesses come to the fore in the final chapter on Noam Chomsky. The Chomsky story is no bildungsroman. Chomskys scholarship evinces none of the falling-in-and-then-out-of-love-with-Israel narrative of, say, Isaac Deutscher.

In fact, it evinces very little evidence of genuine scholarship at all. Linfield makes a forensic analysis of Chomskys writings on Israel (and a few other topics in global politics) that leaves little doubt about the merits of his work. Patiently, methodically, and ultimately persuasively, she exposes Chomsky as a charlatan. He is not controversial or partisan; he is simply dishonest, unserious, and entirely unqualified to be darkening blank pages with his renderings of Israels history or politics.

But theres the nub. While Arendt or Deutscher were arguably interesting subjects even when wrong, Chomsky is not. And thats where the books focus on Jewish intellectuals and on the idea of Zionism, rather than anti-Zionism, comes up short.

Chomsky is not the worlds only intellectual charlatan, but he sells. The Chomsky phenomenon merits analysis not so much on its supply side, as on its demand side. In other words, the interesting question here isnt, Why does this Jewish linguist from MIT have such an obsessive dislike of Israel that finds expression in such shoddy research? The question needs to be, Why do so many people (overwhelmingly non-Jewish) find his work on the topic so compelling?

But the demand side of left-wing Israel hatred is largely absent in this volume. The only exception occurs in the introduction, where Linfield suggests that a series of coincidental events in the late 1960s a loss of faith in Soviet Marxism (especially after the Prague Spring), frustration with US foreign policy (especially in Vietnam), and Israels stunning military victory in the Six-Day War created a perfect storm for pathological obsessive hatred of Israel to assume such a central role in left-wing political and intellectual life. Its a cogent line of thought and worthwhile hypothesis, which is never really pursued.

Focusing on opposition to Zionism, rather than anti-Zionism as a free-standing phenomenon in its own right, leaves Linfields perfect storm hypothesis orphaned in the introduction.

Focusing on Jewish intellectuals, rather than the more numerous gentile ones, also means that antisemitism has almost no role to play in Linfields analysis. Not that it is entirely absent. The chapters on Arendt, Koestler, and Rodinson all reproduce cringe-worthy quotes from each. They make their subjects much less likable, to be sure, but ultimately play no analytical role in the larger phenomenon Linfield seeks to dissect.

But traditional Christian antisemitism has a genealogical presence in left-wing anti-Zionism at least as large as, say, Marxist anti-imperialism. (Much larger, I would argue.) There are many forms of anti-Zionism out there, including a traditional Jewish theological anti-Zionism, as well as the rejectionist and occasionally eliminationist anti-Zionism that has informed so much of Arab and Muslim politics since the fall of the Ottoman Empire. There are right-wing nationalist forms of anti-Zionism and cosmopolitan forms, too.

The left-wing form of anti-Zionism the rejection of Israels existence, not the criticism of a particular government policy or a social or cultural phenomenon hews very closely to a traditional Christian conception of Jews and Judaism. It always involved an inherited collective guilt for some great sin in the past that cannot be cleansed. It always sees itself as struggling under the pressures of a large, well-organized international network that is not just evil, but knows its evil. It always assumes a bloodlust and, in particular, a desire to murder children. And it is always very defensive about its obvious debt to traditional Christian antisemitism, but in ways that are more revealing than exculpatory.

I have elsewhere referred to this as the dialogue of the deaf on antisemitic anti-Zionism. It usually goes something like this:

A: Israel is massacring babies, and its powerful lobbies have hypnotized the world to hide its evil ways.

B: Im concerned that some of your remarks on Israel sound a bit antisemitic. Especially the bits about (1) bloodlust and (2) global conspiracies.

A: No youre not. You are voicing this concern in bad faith. Youre not actually concerned about antisemitism at all, youre just part of (2) a coordinated effort to divert attention from (1) this bloodthirstiness.

Its worth emphasizing here that the antisemitism, like the Marxism, is purely genealogical, not evaluative. Its not the presence or absence of antisemitic motifs that makes this or any other form of anti-Zionism good or bad. Anti-Zionism stands or falls on its own, and needs to be evaluated on its own. And no form of anti-Zionism needs this kind of critical evaluation more than the various left-wing varieties, be they anti-racist, anti-imperialist, or any other.

Susie Linfields book is a crucial first step in this evaluation. But its not enough. As long as we are only interested in the meager supply of cranky Jewish intellectuals churning out low-grade scholarship on Israels sins and not interested in the unquenchable demand of a large, politically engaged intellectual community for that supply, we will keep missing the point.

Shany Mor is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Herzl Institute at the University of Haifa and an associate fellow at the Hannah Arendt Center at Bard College.

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'The Lions' Den': A Crucial Examination of Zionism and the Left That Falls Short - Algemeiner

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Posted By admin on December 12, 2019

This Weeks Guest: Joseph Lieberman

This past October, the former U.S. senator Joseph Lieberman was a keynote speaker at the inaugural Herzl Conference on Contemporary Zionism, held on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem. In his remarks, published last month in Mosaicas What American Jews Can Do to Help Keep Herzls Dream Alive, Lieberman reflected on the miracle of the modern Jewish state and what Jewish self-determination means for American Jews, He also shared his concerns about the future of bipartisan support for Israel, especially among the young.

Now he joins our podcast to talk further about those ideas and about his strikingly independent career in public service. Youll hear the senator discuss the history of his personal relationship to Israel, how he thinks Zionism can help American Jews be better citizens, and whether, as a rising progressive movement grows at the expense of the Democratic center, the longstanding fact of bipartisan support for Israel can endure or is likely to snap.

Musical selections in this podcast are drawn from the Quintet for Clarinet and Strings, op. 31a, composed by Paul Ben-Haim and performed by the ARC Ensemble, the original Broadway cast recording of Fiddler on the Roof, and Above the Ocean by Evan MacDonald.

Background

Every Thursday, the Tikvah Podcast at Mosaicwill bring to your car/earbuds/home stereo/Alexa the latest in our efforts to advance Jewish thought. For more on the new podcast, check out our inaugural post here.

If you have thoughts about the podcast that youd like to share, ideas for future guests and topics, or any other form of feedback, just send us an email at editors@mosaicmagazine.com. Were grateful for your support, and we look forward to a new year of great conversations on Jewish essays and ideas.

More about: Israel & Zionism, Joseph Lieberman

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Podcast: Joe Lieberman on American Jews and the Zionist Dream - Mosaic

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Posted By admin on December 12, 2019

(December 11, 2019 / JNS) Thirteen slates representing the diversity of the American Jewish community will compete in an election to join the38th World Zionist Congress (WZC), set to convene in October 2020 in Jerusalem, announced the American Zionist Movement.

The slates, comprised of more than 1,800 candidates, will fight for 152 American seats for the 38th World Zionist Congress in an election organized and facilitated by the American Zionist Movement.

Jewish American residents who are 18 or older will be eligible to vote from Jan. 21 through March 11, 2020. Voting will take place primarily online, with an option for mail-in ballots.

Those elected from the United States will join delegates from Israel and around the world at the 38th World Zionist Congress to help determine the allocation of nearly $1 billion in funding for and the priorities of the World Zionist Organization, Jewish National Fund and the Jewish Agency for Israel.

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Theodor Herzl, considered the father of modern-day Zionism, convened the first Zionist Congress in 1897. To date, WZC is the sole democratically elected global Jewish forum.

The 13 slates running in the 2020 World Zionist Congress elections are:

Americans4Israel: Unity, Peace & Security

American Forum for Israel

Dorshei Torah VTziyon: Torah and Israel for All

Eretz Hakodesh: Protecting the Kedusha and Mesorah of Eretz Yisrael

Hatikvah: Progressive Israel Slate

Herut Zionists: The Jabotinsky Movement

Israel Shelanu (Our Israel)

Mercaz: The Voice of Conservative/Masorti Judaism

Ohavei Zion: World Sephardic Zionist Organization

Orthodox Israel CoalitionMizrachi: Vote Torah

Vision: Empowering the Next Generation

Vote Reform: ARZA Representing the Reform Movement and Reconstructing Judaism

ZOA Coalition: Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), Torah from Sinai, MIG (Make Israel Great) & National Pro-Israel PartnersCourageously Defending Israel, Sovereignty & the Jewish People.

With more slates than ever before, Herbert Block, executive director of the American Zionist Movement, told JNS that he is expecting a large turnout of voters as well.

The 2015 election had nearly 60,000 voters. We are on track to achieve an even higher turnout this time around, partially because American Jews are in a voting mindset with alikelythird election coming up in Israel and the 2020 U.S. election cycle well underway, he told JNS.

Were excited for so many people representing the diversity of the American Jewish community to affirm their connection to Israel and Zionism by voting in this election, continued Block. The World Zionist Congress is the parliament of the people, and this is the best way for American Jews to vote for their voice in Israel.

He added, American Jews are increasingly engaged with Israel and want to be involved in the political process. With so much attention focused on Israeli elections, this is an opportunity for American Jews to declare their Zionism and participate in an election that will impact not only Israel, but all world Jewry.

Information on how to vote/eligibility is available at: AZM.org/elections.

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American Jews to vote for 35th World Zionist Congress in 2020 - JNS.org

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Posted By admin on December 12, 2019

On Nov. 20, Herut Canada hosted an event at York University in Toronto featuring IDF reservists discussing Israel. Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) organized a protest outside the event. Pro-Israel counter-protesters showed up, as well, and the two groups clashed.

In the aftermath of the event, Jewish groups, including Hillel York, denounced the original SAIA protest and the hostile and intimidating climate it created for Jewish students. However, in a statement, Hillel Ontario CEO Marc Newburgh noted that Hillel declined to sponsor the event with Herut because Hillel believed the event did not align with our campus programming strategy and we were concerned about the risk of violence. Programs that create division are antithetical to creating a safe environment for Jewish students on campus.

This highlights the different ways that Jewish groups engage in Israel advocacy on campus. Indeed, there are a number of groups that advocate for Israel at Canadian universities: Hillel, StandWithUs, Hasbara Fellowships, Herut Canada and JSpaceCanada, to name a few. For the most part, these organizations appear to be aligned. After all, theyre all working towards the same goal. But every once in a while, circumstances can highlight the differences between them.

On its surface, an event featuring IDF reservists educating people about Israel seems like the kind of event Hillel would want to sponsor. And in a vacuum, it probably is. But Rabbi Seth Goren, Hillel Ontarios chief education and campus officer, stressed that just because an event makes sense ideologically for Hillel, doesnt mean it makes sense strategically.

Two of Hillels primary goals are fostering connections to Israel and improving the environment for Jewish students. Hillel reviews potential events on a case-by-case basis, using its specific campus knowledge to try to determine whether an event will further its goals or compromise them.

What works at York is not whats going to work at McMaster. What works at U of T is not whats going to work at Western, said Rabbi Goren, who oversees all those campuses.

We often will make decisions that are really spearheaded by our campus staff and by our campus directors. We trust them to know what works best on our campus and what their students needs and interests are, and we want to support them in bringing in programs that speak to their students and help to really connect them to Israel.

In the case of the event at York, Hillel presumably determined ahead of time that it had the potential to be divisive and could turn into what Rabbi Goren called a toxic event.

If people choose to try and make (divisive events) an opportunity for healing and for discussion and for dialogue and for understanding, it can be incredibly positive. But that requires people to actively make those choices, he said.

Things can also easily go off the rails. A toxic event is something that lights a fire and causes an explosion and that just keeps burning. Thats a lot harder to put out. Its a lot harder to make good come of it.

READ:YORK UNIVERSITY SUSPENDS PRO-ISRAEL, PRO-PALESTINIAN GROUPS FOLLOWING PROTEST

Ilan Orzy, the director of advocacy and issues management for Hillel Ontario, said that despite what some members of the Jewish community may think, most Jewish students at York do not feel like they are constantly under attack.

Hillel York, our staff and our students have made tremendous strides towards improving the campus climate for Jewish students and their involvement in their academic careers, Orzy said. We strive to ensure that that environment is not negatively affected by one specific incident, but is rather strengthened by the plethora of opportunities we offer on campus.

A week after the protest, the York Federation of Students (YFS) passed a motion at its AGM, which said it would oppose representatives of the Israeli state or any other imperialist power who are gathering support for war and occupation.

Lauren Isaacs, the Toronto director of Herut Canada, said she thinks the motion is a symptom of a larger problem that would exist regardless of whether her event took place.

The anti-Semitism is there. The fact is, its always been there, and people who are suggesting that our event caused it are grossly incorrect. Its that our event shone a spotlight on it. It was there and it was growing and increasing in hostility just under the feet of students, waiting to break free. And we demonstrated that it is alive and well, she said.

Isaacs described herself and her organization as unapologetically Zionist, and said Herut which has since been suspended at York, along with SAIA, pending the schools investigation of the events of Nov. 20 makes a point of openly supporting Israel in a way she doesnt believe other Zionist organizations do. Its a show of solidarity and support for Jews on campus who feel like they cant express their Zionism.

Were showing them that theyre not alone. There are proud Zionists who are willing to put themselves out there and say, I dont care if there are loud or dangerous or violent people against us, we are still going to maintain, were going to be true to our identity and hold the flag proudly, she said. By keeping our heads down and hiding, its not helping anything. Its just allowing an environment for this sort of hate and anti-Jewish, anti-Israel sentiment to grow.

All of the representatives of Zionist organizations who were interviewed for this article agreed with Isaacs assessment that there are people who express anti-Jewish and anti-Israel sentiments on campuses. However, they offered different strategies about how to deal with them.

Daniel Koren, the director of Hasbara Fellowships Canada, said his organization approaches Israel advocacy with the 70 per cent rule in mind. That rule refers to the majority of students who do not have a strong opinion about Israel one way or the other.

There isnt much of a point in targeting the approximately 30 per cent of students who already feel strongly about Israel, whether for or against. So Hasbara approaches its advocacy through the lens of how to best reach the remaining 70 per cent.

Some members of our community feel that when theres rallies and anti-Israel protests that our community wants to have a voice standing up to the haters, standing up to the propaganda and saying no. And I must say that I completely understand the rationale and the logic behind this, he said.

From a symbolic point of view, I think it is positive to show that were not going to be bullied around, were not going to let the anti-Israel activists define our identity, define our experience, define our history.

However, Hasbara doesnt want its support for Israel to be purely symbolic it also needs to be effective.

When youre having pro-Israel students chanting pro-Israel slogans amongst other pro-Israel students against anti-Israel students who have already made their mind up it simply, in my view, isnt advocacy, Koren said. Advocacy is really teaching and education.

And he believes education works best on people who are less knowledgeable about a subject that is, the 70 per cent.

My concern with starting wars with other groups would be that for the non-Jewish students walking by it just seems like people yelling and screaming at each other, he said. Its not effective advocacy.

Students who see or hear about a polarizing event are liable to withdraw from the discussion entirely. Koren said Hasbara has evidence showing that students disengage from negativity, but respond well to positivity. Thats why attendance at Israel Apartheid Week events seems to be declining, he said, and why Hasbara sponsors an effective Israel Peace Week instead of an event aimed at criticizing other countries, which could turn people away.

And its why an event thats supposed to educate new people about Israel could end up attracting mostly staunch supporters or vocal detractors, instead of the people it was intended for.

Karen Mock, the president of the progressive Zionist organization JSpaceCanada, said the goals of the people who host divisive events will influence how students judge the ensuing controversy.

Is (the event) just to say, we can, so we will and were going to be in your face, we dont care what you say? Or is it, in fact, to present balanced and nuanced and historical facts? Mock asked.

Mock believes that if the intention is to be loud for the sake of being loud, it undermines attempts at effective Israel advocacy and does nothing to counter anti-Semitism.

Mock said JSpaceCanada started as a way to address the growing anti-Semitism in what she called the anti-racist, anti-oppression world. To further this goal, it brings in respected and trusted anti-oppression experts to educate members of that community about anti-Semitism in a way that will make sense and resonate with them.

Were not coming with violent protests and screaming and yelling and bringing in the Israeli army. Were bringing in people who are experts on human rights and anti-racism, including, by the way, some Muslims and Palestinians, and certainly Jews who are at the forefront of the struggle, and blacks, she said.

And when you have a black anti-racist activist whos well respected look at a hundred people and tell them what anti-Semitism is and why we need to stand up against it, thats powerful.

Renan Levine, a political science professor at University of Toronto who has hosted numerous events about Israel over the years, encourages his students to listen to each other instead of trying to solve the conflict here in Canada, because that approach just exacerbates tensions.

Another potential approach is to be able to say, my people and your people have differences. And I think Im right. And you no doubt think youre right. And I think I have facts on my side, he said. It takes a lot to recognize that the other person also thinks that they have facts on their side. So now how are you going to have a conversation? And how might that conversation help either person better understand where the other one is coming from?

Its not always easy to take that approach, however. Jordana Schiff a third-year student at McGill University in Montreal who is a StandWithUs fellow, Israel on Campus executive and former Hasbara fellow said the most challenging part of effectively advocating for Israel is balancing her emotional response with her rationality.

That can be especially difficult at McGill, where scandals regarding Israel and Jewish students frequently arise, such as the recent controversies over the McGill Dailys anti-Zionism policy and student union leaders taking a sponsored trip to Israel (for more on this story, see page 12).

I love Israel unconditionally and will defend it at all costs, and often just want to act out of instinct and defend what I know is right. But when defending Israel, you have to be strategic, as Israel has many enemies on the college campuses, she wrote in an email to The CJN.

I always have to step back and realize that although I think one thing, not everyone agrees and I need to come up with strategies for expressing my belief in a way that will persuade other people.

For example, she said she would want to highlight the morality of the IDF, especially since she has many friends serving in it, but she recognizes that probably wouldnt go over well on campus. Nor would that message resonate with other students.

Instead, she considers what would make her or her peers stop at a table set up in a hallway. Schiff knows she would avoid a table with an Israeli flag. But students like marijuana, so shed set up a booth about Israeli innovations in cannabis.

Schiff also stressed the importance of being able to respond to anti-Zionists constructively, in a way that is consistent with the goals of the organizations she represents.

As much as we want to convince the anti-Zionist 15 per cent to change their minds, or even engage in discussion, it normally just isnt worth (it). They dont agree with us and, as much as it sucks, we have to respect their opinions and beliefs, she wrote.

But that doesnt mean we always ignore them. When in public, it is super important to be able to have educated conversations with these people, where we can respectfully call out their lies and explain our perspective on the matter.

The goal of these conversations is not to change their minds, but its for the sake of everyone else around listening to us. Especially when they are aggressively yelling at us, we have to show everyone that we are calm and present the facts, because the people around are the 70 per cent and we want to have a positive impact on them.

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Inside the battle to change hearts and minds about Israel on campus - Canadian Jewish News

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